Adventures with Ivory: SBW AMC

SB whata what?  Last month,  I attended my first ever State Bar of Wisconsin Annual Meeting and Conference.  The hashtag for the event was #SBWamc.  I’ve been to a couple smaller WI Bar events, but this was my first big one.  It was fabulous!

I had no idea that there hasn’t been a State Bar of Wisconsin Annual Meeting for the past 7 or 8 years.  If people there hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have guessed it either.  Everything went smoothly, the educational programs were great, the logistics appeared flawless (which means several somebodies behind the scenes were working their tail feathers off), and the extra stuff was fun and inclusive.

The first night, the new president of the State Bar was sworn in.  The MC for the night – Mike McCarthy.  Alfred was jealous.  I was less enthusiastic than she would have been about trying to get a picture, but I did get this one almost decent one for her.  The swear in event was fun and by the time Coach got done introducing the new President, I felt like the State Bar was headed for greatness.

One of my favorite parts of WI Bar events is the passport game.  When you check-in, you get a little passport card that lists all the vendors at the event.  Your task is to visit each of the vendors and have them sign off on the passport.  When your passport’s full, you put it in a fishbowl at the Bar’s booth for a drawing.  I didn’t win a drawing prize this time, but I did win one at a previous program.  I love the passport event because it’s a good excuse to visit all the vendors and learn about lots of neat products and opportunities.  You can also pick up some pretty swanky swag, like a sewing and manicure kit!

The State Bar of Wisconsin has an excellent Twitter account.  Wisconsin isn’t exactly known for being tech savvy as a state, but man did the Bar do a great job of using Twitter at the event.  The attorneys are a little behind in terms of this tech stuff, so the Bar offered encouragement and promoted the use of social media throughout the program.  Attendees were given the hashtag ahead of time and anyone who tweeted with the hashtag 3 or more times during the conference was entered into a drawing.  There was a large monitor in the main hallway, near the snacky-snacks, that showed the hashtag feed.  There was also a Selfie-Twitter game with Jellybean, the Bar’s cow mascot at one of the parties.

Jellybean is by far my favorite thing about the State Bar here.  I just love the way Wisconsinites embrace our stereotypes – like the whole Cheeshead thing.  The cow is on the State Bar website, the cow is on programs, the cow is on a stick for selfies, and the cow is available to take home!

My favorite swag from the event:

Those little foam guys are my absolute favorite.  Mommy named mine Schlai.